Whitehorse to Dawson City

 August 21, 2023

WHITEHORSE - DAWSON CITY

Italics - tour description
Prior to the late 1950’s, the only way to travel to Dawson City in summer was on a majestic paddlewheeler like the SS Klondike. Today, we’ll cover the 550km distance in just a few hours. Our route today takes us through the heart of the Yukon interior more or less along the Yukon River valley. We’ll stop for a coffee in the morning at Braeburn Lodge, famous for its massive cinnamon buns, then continue northbound on the Klondike Highway passing through several small native villages and settlements including, Carmacks, Pelly Crossing and Stewart Crossing. Near Carmacks, the road offers great views of famous Five Finger Rapids and about an hour outside of Dawson, we’ll stop at the Tintina Trench overlook for views of the expansive Yukon interior with the Ogilvie Mountains beyond that we’ll pass through the day after tomorrow. After a relaxed dinner we pick you up from your hotel for our evening program and visit Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall with poker game and Cancan-Dance-Girls. Accommodation: Downtown Hotel Dawson City

Departure 8 AM

Breakfast on your own

Braeburn Lodge is a roadhouse on the Klondike Highway. It is located east of Braeburn Lake and north of Braeburn Mountain, on the path of the former Dawson Overland Trail, which was built in 1902 between Whitehorse and Dawson City. Steve, a Harley-clad, white-bearded guy who’s famous for his cinnamon buns.

Who knows???

These heavy-weight goods are roughly the size of a dinner plate, and are so famous that the nearby Braeburn airport also goes by the name of ‘Cinnamon Bun Airstrip.’

Carmacks

At its prime position where the Yukon and Nordenskiold Rivers meet, the Carmacks area has been an important spot on the map for countless centuries. Carmacks remains popular with both river and highway travellers. It’s a great spot where boats can launch for the trip to Dawson City or for fishing right near Carmacks.

Lots of construction on the Klondike Highway.

Five Finger Rapids

The name comes from the 4 islands that split the river into 5 channels. The rapids were a danger for gold seekers during the Klondike Gold Rush. In the 1900s, explosives were used to widen this channel.

You are advised to carry bear spray to the rapids!

There are bear proof garbage cans! We have our lunch here.

German license plates.

Bathroom break.

The Selkirk First Nation is located at the village of Pelly Crossing on the Klondike Highway in the Central Yukon. The Selkirk First Nation is part of the Northern Tutchone language and cultural grouping and is closely connected with their Northern Tutchone neighbours, the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun in Mayo, and the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation in Carmacks. The three First Nations are formally associated through an organization known as the Northern Tutchone Tribal Council.

Closed - statutory holiday.

Yukon’s Discovery Day is celebrated in territory of Yukon, Canada, on the third Monday of August. Also Klondike Gold Discovery Day, it commemorates the anniversary of the discovery of gold in Yukon. It differs from Newfoundland and Labrador’s Discovery Day, also known as Cabot 500 Day.

The Klondike Highway was constructed north from Whitehorse in the early 1950s and Pelly Crossing was established as a ferry crossing and highway construction camp. With the completion of the road, Fort Selkirk was virtually abandoned and the Selkirk First Nation re-settled first at Minto and then at Pelly Crossing.

Stewart Crossing is located on the Klondike Highway at the junction with the Silver Trail. A Yukon government highway maintenance camp and a highway lodge are the most prominent facilities at the location, named for where the Mayo Road, as it was then known, crossed the Stewart River by means of a ferry from 1950 until completion of a bridge in the mid-1950s.

More bumpy, dusty roads!

The Tintina Trench is a linear valley, extending into Alaska and south across the Yukon. It was first recorded as a geological feature in the early 1900s by R.G. McConnel, a geologist with the Geological Survey of Canada. The GSC named it the "Tintina (meaning Chief) Trench".

Outside Dawson City. These rocks are left from the gold rush.

Dredges used a series of buckets attached to a moving line to scrape tons of sediment from the bottom of the water and carry it back to the building, where crew members sorted through it for gold. The crew would then dispose of the waste material — known as tailings — by dumping it along river banks.

DAWSON CITY

The current settlement was founded by Joseph Ladue and named in January 1897 after noted Canadian geologist George M. Dawson, who had explored and mapped the region in 1887. It served as Yukon's capital from the territory's founding in 1898 until 1952, when the seat was moved to Whitehorse.

Dawson City was the centre of the Klondike Gold Rush. It began in 1896 and changed the First Nations camp into a thriving city of 16,000–17,000 by 1898. By 1899, the gold rush had ended and the town's population plummeted as all but 8,000 people left. When Dawson was incorporated as a city in 1902, the population was under 5,000. 

The downtown has been devastated by fire in November 1897 (that started when dance hall girl Dolly Mitchell threw a lamp at another girl in an argument), 1899 (that started in the Bodega Saloon), 1900 (that started at the Monte Carlo Theatre) and flooding in 1925, 1944, 1966, 1969 and 1979.

After checking in we went for a walk, some things are closed due to the holiday.

Google brought these photos in backwards and I don't have time to flip them!

We went to the Jack London Grill for dinner and it happened to be the 50th anniversary of the Sourtoe Cocktail.

Established in 1973, the Sourtoe Cocktail has become a time-honoured tradition in Dawson City. To date, the club has over 100,000 members, hailing from every corner of the world.

How Do I Become a Member?

Step 1 – Come down to the Sourdough Saloon (Jack London Grill)
Step 2 – Purchase a shot (most club members prefer Yukon Jack)
Step 3 – Pledge the ‘Sourtoe Oath’
Step 4 – Watch as a (genuine) dehydrated toe is dropped in your drink
Step 5 – Drink your Sourtoe Cocktail

Be sure to remember the most important rule: “You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips have gotta touch the toe”

Sourtoe Cocktail Recipe:1 ounce (minimum) of alcohol
1 dehydrated toe
garnish with courage

Origins:

The legend of the first “sourtoe” dates back to the 1920’s and features a feisty rum-runner named Louie Linken and his brother Otto. During one of their cross-border deliveries, they ran into an awful blizzard. In an effort to help direct his dog team, Louie stepped off the sled and into some icy overflow—soaking his foot thoroughly.

Fearing that the police were on their trail, they continued on their journey. Unfortunately, the prolonged exposure to the cold caused Louie’s big toe to be frozen solid. To prevent gangrene, the faithful Otto performed the amputation using a woodcutting axe (and some overproof rum for anesthesia). To commemorate this moment, the brothers preserved the toe in a jar of alcohol.

Years later, while cleaning out an abandoned cabin, the toe was discovered by Captain Dick Stevenson. After conferring with friends, the Sourtoe Cocktail Club was established and the rules developed. Since its inception, the club has acquired (by donation) over 25 toes.